OKC Thunder Dec. 26th, 8:00 PM

I just don't know what to write. Curry should have called a time out with about 8 ahead.....anyone could see that the thunder were surging....its like he waits too long to make decisions. I have ittle confidence in curry's ability to make decisions on the fly...that is what coaches do.

Kwame will never get into a game again. Curry tore into him about missing a defensive assignment. Kwame is the official whipping boy. Seems like every team he is on he becomes the whipping boy.

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I was yelling at my tv set when the lead got to 10. I was about to lose it when it got to 5. I think an official's timeout saved us.

What on earth was Sheed doing guarding Jeff Green on the wrong side at the end of the game? He just gave the guy a wide open alley oop. It's like he had money on the game. Must have thought he was guarding Robert Horry....

What on earth was Sheed doing guarding Jeff Green on the wrong side at the end of the game? He just gave the guy a wide open alley oop. It's like he had money on the game. Must have thought he was guarding Robert Horry....

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I have at times thought Sheed may be sabotaging games but that's just pure speculation on my part, lmao. He may be trying to send a message to MC that small ball is not going to work by playing sub-par every nite. If that is the case, well you dont want to know what I think. I want to give the filter a rest.

Amir needs back in the starting line-up ASAP. Small Ball is hopefully dying a slow death. We were going to win this game regardless per the AA rule. I don't like how Curry seems to not understand which players are playing well, and i too was ready to strangle him when he didn't call TO or make any subs. We blow alot of leads, but they are due to bad in game management by the coach as much as play.

Folks want a new coach who coaches differently than Flip. They got it.

Folks want to play the kids, even if it costs games, they got it.

They pay lip service to early struggling for postseason reward, they got it.

Honestly, I would get so mad in the playoffs, because I felt like the whole season was meaningless, and then losing in the playoffs with so many off nights felt like being cheated.

Now I am excited to watch all 50 or so regular season games, and the playoffs will be a bonus. When I said I wanted Flip gone, play the kids more, and develop the team during the season, this is what I meant, and this is what I expected.

Either I was being realistic, or I am just a damn fool (don't answer that).

Curry has a mean hook. He was yelling at Kwame for something and pulled him out.

I don't think it was Curry's fault about losing the lead in terms of not pulling players. He purposely left that unit out there. He likes to see players tough things out. Phil does this a lot with the Lakers.

The problem with losing leads is more systemic. The Pistons without Billips do not have go to plays in place yet. In the past, Billips would get to the hoop to get fouled or he would pop a three or Rip would run around screens. Right now, there is no set of go to plays so losing leads happens over and over. And, the team is simply not able to lock down with any consistency on defense. So no lead is too safe these days...

For a stim junkie like me, nothing like adrenaline, and the taste of my heart in my mouth with 8 seconds to go. Makes the whole game worth watching.

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LOL. I guess that's one of way of looking at it.

Folks want to play the kids, even if it costs games, they got it.

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I have to disagree w/ you there. Part of my frustration with the rotation is we are not playing the young guys that much, and are still at times overplaying the starters. If Amir was still starting, and Max/KB (and AA to a lesser extent gets frozen out sometimes in what Curry considers "big") were still get solid minutes i would have no problem with any struggle.

Now seeing Dice play 30, and Tay,AI play 40, and until recently Sheed and Rip way up there and struggling. That's irritating.

I'm not falling for the lip service we get from the coaches. Playing Max or Amir for 5 min every 4 games is not going to cut it.

Folks want a new coach who coaches differently than Flip. They got it.

Folks want to play the kids, even if it costs games, they got it.

They pay lip service to early struggling for postseason reward, they got it.

Honestly, I would get so mad in the playoffs, because I felt like the whole season was meaningless, and then losing in the playoffs with so many off nights felt like being cheated.

Now I am excited to watch all 50 or so regular season games, and the playoffs will be a bonus. When I said I wanted Flip gone, play the kids more, and develop the team during the season, this is what I meant, and this is what I expected.

Either I was being realistic, or I am just a damn fool (don't answer that).

Great clutch game winning shot from AI. Great win.

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Great post. Some people cant understand that you have to sacrifice for long term progress and success. They live for the moment and lack vision for the future. I agreee with you totally Ros.

I have to disagree w/ you there. Part of my frustration with the rotation is we are not playing the young guys that much, and are still at times overplaying the starters. If Amir was still starting, and Max/KB (and AA to a lesser extent gets frozen out sometimes in what Curry considers "big") were still get solid minutes i would have no problem with any struggle.

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I think Amir, Max and Kwame have shown they don't deserve to start, and thus, don't deserve many minutes. Curry can play the young guys but he'll lose the vets if he plays them more than they produce.

I know, you think Amir has something to offer. We just differ on that. other than keeping the statistician busy tracking his personal fouls, the kid is once again (3rd season?) not in NBA shape. He still looks like an 18 year old.

Great post. Some people cant understand that you have to sacrifice for long term progress and success. They live for the moment and lack vision for the future. I agreee with you totally Ros.

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Supporting the team when they win is easy, supporting them when they are struggling is tough. I'm not some hero for supporting them, it's the part of being a fan I enjoy. Uncertainty. Nervousness. Frustration (I feel it too). Anxiousness. Nirvana. Bliss.

I think Amir, Max and Kwame have shown they don't deserve to start, and thus, don't deserve many minutes. Curry can play the young guys but he'll lose the vets if he plays them more than they produce.

I know, you think Amir has something to offer. We just differ on that. other than keeping the statistician busy tracking his personal fouls, the kid is once again (3rd season?) not in NBA shape. He still looks like an 18 year old.

When they produce, they get to play. Not the other way around. Amir and Max had plenty of opportunities early and did not live up to the hype.

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Yup, it's mainly a disagreement on the value of the players. I thought Amir was producing and playing well. He got knocked out of the SL for no reason (Curry making something up about how we have enough speed in the SL with AI; then he starts Stuck, and decidess we should run all the time. Players that like to run like to play with other plays that like to run) It's almost like we're in a limbo in terms of what type of team we are and what type of pace we're going to play. I think thats a big reason for the struggles; no identity.

But at the same time Curry will lose the young guys when he overplays the vets that aren't producing.

IMO, the rotations are kind of a mess, but the one good thing about Curry is his he's so random that no one's on the bench forever. I'd like to see the young players get a chance to get comfortable though. Throwing Amir in tonight and him producing was great, but it's going to translate if he sits for so long, and then you throw him into a PO game. I don't think anyone thinks that the top 6 are good enough for us to win in the post-season alone.

edited to add;

Curry acknowledged Amir as the player of the game and that when he was in we actually got defensive stops and he protected the rim. Now watch this be followed by 4 DNP-CD LOL

I liked Amir's play tonight. Great stint. But I tend to agree with Micro in thinkiing that Amir and JMax have not lived up to the hype. For example, JMax taking that jumper just above the free throw line tonight. He has not hit that shot in a game with any regularity. He is low percentage on that fall away jumper as well but he continues to take it.

Still, I think Curry is just sizing up his pieces right now. I want to wait to see how he puts them together.

If we don't see Kwame against Dwight then I'm going to lose it. I'm hoping that he wasn't benched for another phantom missing assignment/Curry making excuses for other guy's defensive lapses.

I'm excited about Stuckey, but honestly, if we're supposed to watch this season to get excited about our future, then I don't know what I'm supposed to feel right now. Max is invisible, and Amir is falling into the same crap.

I haven't seen the game yet but uhm, isn't it kinda poor to need a last second shot to be able to win over a team that is at the bottom of the rankings.
Yes the Pistons are in a transition phase right now, but cmon Oklahoma City.......

OKC is on a different stratosphere in terms of athleticism. We knew about Durant and Green, but today I got to see Westbrook shoot out like a cannon. If they ever mesh, they are going ot be a blast to watch, running up and down the court. Our guys didnt even bother to contest them when they zoomed through the paint, sort of like "whatever, take the points."

Amir stays on the bench folks. He did a fine job for the time that he was in, but Prince still managed to average more rebounds per minute in this game than Johnson, whereas Amir was on pace to foul out in less than 20.

I love how coaches like Jackson (even rookie coach Jackson back in the day) like to let their teams find their own way out on the floor in the name of player development (rather than giving the opposing team momentum when they see the coach peeing their pants Flip style) and they are labeled geniuses while Curry is certainly a moron, even though the team won the game and learned a few things in the process.

This was a great game to watch IMO. These guys got pretty rusty, but it is nice to see exactly where they can get on the floor at will despite those missed easy shots.
The defense is looking better, save for some blown assignments here and there. The best defensive rebounder on this team is McDyess. It's not even close. I'm glad he's back.
I'm looking forward to tonight. Should be a good one.

Folks want a new coach who coaches differently than Flip. They got it.

Folks want to play the kids, even if it costs games, they got it.

They pay lip service to early struggling for postseason reward, they got it.

Honestly, I would get so mad in the playoffs, because I felt like the whole season was meaningless, and then losing in the playoffs with so many off nights felt like being cheated.

Now I am excited to watch all 50 or so regular season games, and the playoffs will be a bonus. When I said I wanted Flip gone, play the kids more, and develop the team during the season, this is what I meant, and this is what I expected.

Either I was being realistic, or I am just a damn fool (don't answer that).

Great clutch game winning shot from AI. Great win.

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So far, all the losses have been from not playing the kids. The "kids" are some of our very best players. Our first two losses this season, for instance, were from Curry not playing Afflalo in the 2nd quarter.

I know you disagree about how good JMAX and Amir are, but no way has playing either of these guys ever lost us a game.

Stuckey, maybe. Like when he got injured and played thru it. Bynum, quite questionable. I have blamed him a couple of times in my game reports for messing up our flow on offense, but upon review both times I find it was not the case.

And Kwame. For sure, trying to play two centers, Sheed and Kwame, together at the same time, when its not called for, has certainly lost us games. But otherwise, Kwame has not lost us games by playing. He has actually did quite well whenever brought in, other than playing along side either of Dyess or Sheed, giving us no power forward in the game.

Playing Rip at small forward has cost us games. Tay playing power forward has cost us games. The pair of Dyess and Sheed, giving us no power forward in the game, has cost us games.

In sum, poor rotations, leaving some of our best players out, has cost us games. Never playing our youth, (except in the case of playing thru Stuck's injury.) Playing our youth more would have meant no small ball needed.